Matchday Memories: On This Day 2010 – A Sky Blue Icelander & ‘Cov Kid’ Disappoint Donny
Aidy Boothroyd- Sky Blue ‘gaffer’
On this day (28th September) in 2010 the Sky Blues, managed by Aidy Boothroyd (until sacked and ‘assistant gaffer’ Andy Thorn took over in mid March) were nine games into their Championship season. They grabbed their fourth win to date (all but one at the Ricoh) and all the points four minutes from time against Doncaster Rovers (managed by Sean O’Driscoll) at the Ricoh leaving them in eleventh spot.
Star of the show was the Sky Blues young Icelandic international Aron Gunnarsson who scored one and made one for CCFC. He struck early in the second minute and after Billy Sharp had equalised for Donny just before the half-time whistle, Aron turned provider on 86 minutes srossing for ‘Cov.Kid’ Sky Blue striker Gary McSheffrey to head home the winner. Both players are now Association members! Their were 523 Donny fans in the 12,292 crowd.
The graphics (provided by former CCFPA committee member Dean Nelson) below provides a brief match report as well as nearly all the key match information:-
Aron in the Sky Blue
Gary in the Sky Blue
Of the thirteen Sky Blues players that appeared on the pitch that day Keiren Westwood, Richard Keogh, Ben Turner, Richard Wood, Lee Carsley, Marlon King, Clive Platt and the two goalscorers all later joined CCFPA as well as Michael Doyle, Nathan Cameron and Carl Baker who remained on the City bench.
CCFC gaffer- Andy Thorn,
Having been briefly top of the table after their third game at the end of August and sixth by mid November the performances of the team that Aidy built gradually but substantially deteriorated from December onwards. From the New Year a league run of only one win in twelve did for Aidy and, as imtimated above, he was replaced by Chief Scout Andy Thorn in mid March as (initially) caretaker ‘gaffer’ to the end of the season. One of these games in the desperately poor rum was the return with Donny at the Keepmoat a week before Aidy’s departure, a dispiriting 1-1 away draw where a 23rd minute Sky Blue opener from (now CCFPA member) Freddy Eastwood was pegged back just a minute from the final whistle by James Hayter.
CCFC 2010-11
The team under Thorn ultimately ended up their 2010-11 season safe in a lowly eighteenth spot. Nevertheless, City were a full thirteen points clear of the relegated trio, Preston North End, Sheffield United and (bottom) Scunthorpe United. Donny managed 21st place just above the trap door albeit six points clear of the fall guys.
Queen’s Park Rangers (Champions) and Norwich City got the automatic promotion spots and were Premier League bound along with play-off victors, third placed Swansea City.
Thanks to CCFPA’s Mike Young (& Dean Nelson) for sourcing the images.
